Today's Stats:

Breakfast

Blood Glucose:     Time:  0940     Reading:  132

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1026     BP:  128/68     Pulse:  84

Breakfast:  1045  & Meds What she ate:  1 hard over egg, heavily peppered 1 slice honey cured ham steak 1 slice toasted oat bran bread with 1 tbl Fleischmann's margarine 1/4 tsp cinnamon on bread 6 oz orange juice diluted w/8 oz water
Med/Dose	Administration	Explanation
Niferex-150 [150 mg elemental iron]	1 hour before breakfast	to pull her out of what I hope is her temporarily severely anemic state
vitamin C/500 mg	1/2 1000 mg tab with Niferex-150	helps the body metabolize iron
100% Aloe Vera gel/1 oz	just before meal	helps increase the cells' sensitivity to insulin
Protonix/40 mg	1 pill at least 1/2 hour pre-meal	standard pre-breakfast med
glipizide ER/10 mg	1 pill with meal	standard breakfast and dinner med to increase cells' sensitivity to insulin
aspirin/81 mg	1 tab with breakfast	standard breakfast med - given for anti-coagulant properties
lisinopril/1.25 mg	1/4 tab with meal	given for kidney protection when her blood pressure can handle it
Daily Senior Multivitamin	with breakfast	standard breakfast supplement
folic acid/400 mcg	with breakfast	standard breakfast supplement
garlic/1250 mg	with meal	standard breakfast supplement; a natural antibiotic and anti-coagulant
vitamin E/400 IU	with meal	given for anti-coagulant properties; among other reasons; appears to be of benefit to type 2 diabetics, as well, in its role as a smooth muscled organ protectant, particularly the pancreas, which produces insulin
1/4 cup pure cranberry juice w/12 oz water	after breakfast	standard after breakfast supplement

    Nothing really unusual to report about breakfast, this morning, except I knew better than to give her 2 pieces of toast. She didn't ask for 2 pieces, anyway, which was good.
    I liked her blood pressure, especially since I gave her lisinopril last night. So, I gave it to her again this morning. You'll notice I also gave her cranberry juice this morning, even though she had it last night. She needed more liquid, and, I figured, this wouldn't hurt her, and, this way, I wouldn't completely forget it, today.

Lunch

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1452     Reading:  92

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1459     BP:  107/53     Pulse:  68

Lunch:  1500  & Meds What she ate:  a salad made with the left over tuna mixture from last night, some greens and chopped radishes, about a handful of bowtie pasta and maybe 1.5 Tbl Greek feta dressing 11.5 oz V-8 juice with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Med/Dose	Administration	Explanation
18 mg Iron Protein Succinylate	1 18 mg tab with meal	to pull her out of what I hope is her temporarily severely anemic state
vitamin C/500 mg	1/2 1000 mg tab with iron supplement	helps the body metabolize iron

    I definitely liked her blood pressure at lunch, again, especially after giving her lisinopril this morning. I think I'm beginning to get the hang of keeping it up just enough with fluid intake to be able to administer lisinopril in the minute doses to which I've scaled her.

Dinner

Blood Glucose:     Time:  1945     Reading:  105

Blood Pressure:     Time:  1953     BP:  134/62     Pulse:  60

Dinner:  2000  & Meds What she ate:  A good 10 oz of More Meat Than Macaroni & Cheese with ground chuck, sauteed onions and green peppers
Med/Dose	Administration	Explanation
100% Aloe Vera gel/1 oz	just before meal	helps increase the cells' sensitivity to insulin
36 mg Iron Protein Succinylate	2 18 mg tabs with meal	to pull her out of what I hope is her temporarily severely anemic state
vitamin C/500 mg	1/2 1000 mg tab with iron supplement	helps the body metabolize iron
glipizide ER/10 mg	1 pill with meal	standard breakfast and dinner med to increase cells' sensitivity to insulin
lisinopril/1.25 mg	1/4 of 5 mg tab with meal	given for kidney protection when her blood pressure can handle it
vitamin E/400 IU	with meal	given for anti-coagulant properties
garlic/1250 mg	with meal	given for anti-coagulant properties
calcium-vitamin D/500-200 mg	with meal	believed to be an osteoporosis preventative

    It is very nice to be able to write, for yet another stat report, that there was nothing unusual about dinner tonight. I think I'm finally getting the hang of how much to hydrate her in order to keep her blood pressure high enough, morning and evening, to allow me to administer a minute dose of lisinopril for kidney protection and not hydrate her so much that she loses complete control of her bladder and her sodium level drops dangerously. Some of the technique has to do with monitoring her blood pressure, some of it has to do with noticing how her skin hangs on her, some of it has to do with noticing how quickly, or whether, she soaks her Depends during the day. Today, every time we changed them except for when we returned from her blood draw/urine collection, they were almost completely dry. I think the only reason why she leaked, some, during the blood draw/urine collection phase of the day is that I made sure she had enough water in her so that a collection could be taken and once she's asked to pee on demand her bladder hangs onto that direction for awhile after it is necessary.
    She left a little dinner in her bowl, tonight, which I coaxed her to finish under the true pretext that I didn't want her losing any more weight. She doesn't want to lose any more weight, either. She feels "fat and sassy" where she is, which, in her terminology means she feels good, at fighting weight, neither too heavy nor too light.